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Invest Europe | Central and Eastern Europe Statistics 2016 Report

29 August 2017

Gide is once again the partner of the latest edition of the Central and Eastern Europe Statistics report. This publication is issued annually by Invest Europe, a non-profit organisation representing European private equity, venture capital and their global investors.

The document provides annual activity statistics for the private equity and venture capital markets of Central and Eastern Europe in the years up to 2016.

The data contained in the report takes a “market approach”, with information compiled to show activity in a particular country, regardless of the origin or location of the private equity fund managers, to give a more accurate picture of the overall investment trends and activities in the markets of Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).

In this publication, the CEE comprises Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine – i.e. countries with a total population of around 170 million and registering a total GCP of €1.3 trillion in 2016.

The key findings of the CEE Statistics 2016 report include:

Private equity and venture capital investments in CEE region companies reached a total of €1.6 billion in 2016 (the highest amount since 2009).

Investment capital last year focused mainly on Poland, followed by the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary respectively. Consumer goods and services was the most targeted sector, attracting 23% of the investment value, while information and communication technology (ICT) was a close second with 22%.

The CEE region’s total private equity fundraising amount rose 62% year-on-year to €621 million in 2016, as larger fund managers returned to the market, and in line with a Europe-wide increase in fundraising for the asset class.

European investors from outside the CEE region provided 58% of the total capital raised, while funding from investors outside Europe grew nearly nine-fold, notably from the US.

Long-term private investors contributed 43% of the overall fundraising amount, with funds-of-funds the largest source of capital, accounting for 27%, followed by pension funds with 16%.

The total number of companies divested in CEE increased to a record high of 112 in 2016, mainly driven by exits of venture-backed companies. Sales to another private equity house (the secondary market) took over as 2016’s most utilised exit route in terms of amount, accounting for €476 million in value at historical investment cost and 46% of the region’s total divestment value.

At 37, trade sales remained the most common route in terms of the number of companies divested. Poland was the largest market in the region for exits, at 35% of divested amount at cost, followed by the Czech Republic, while ICT was the region’s most important sector for divestments, including two out of the four largest exits last year.